Fun In Indianapolis

This past weekend I travelled to Indianapolis with Linda, Becca, and Jill to attend that city's guild meeting and the workshops hosted by Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville fame.

First of all, it was simply fantastic to spend a few precious hours way from home - a break of sorts from the everyday challenges. To share this time with the above-mentioned quilty buddies was precious to me.

Bonnie is a truly gifted quilt artist and a fantastic instructor. Honestly, I had my doubts that I'd be successful in creating anything "scrappy". That was soon proven wrong!

My tote of two inch strips created a nice scrappy star. Once I had a sample - I went to town on sewing a bunch of pieces utilizing the bonus method Bonnie taught. By sewing an extra line on the corner of the blocks, you get a two inch half square triangle block. Before Friday, I simply snipped these ends off the sewn piece and tossed them into the nearest trash can. The horror of it all and I am so ashamed. But, I have seen the light and now have a basket designated for these little squares - waiting for the opportunity to be pieced for some lucky future quilt. Bonnie stated those little scraps cost $9 a yard too!

Saturday's class was interesting and once I got into the right mindset, it was a lot of fun. Just sewing "crumbs" together in a random order and creating 4 and 1/2 inch squares was a totally new thing for me. It quickly brought back memories of when I'd raid my grandmother's stash and sew doll dresses with no patterns.

Once I returned home, I sewed 17 of the scrappy star blocks and a handful of the 4 and 1/2 inch squares. Andrea popped her head into the sewing room to see what I was working on and pronounced that nothing matched. I'm taking that as the ultimate compliment.

And thus, back to reality..........

Michael got a letter from Social Security Administration. They denied his claim because he didn't have enough credits for the US system. No duh! Whoever handled his claim totally overlooked the fact that we filed for totalization benefits in coordination with England. So, I've already typed a letter and completed the form for Michael to send to re-open his request. Imbeciles! And these are the same folks we want running our health care system? This sort of action would not be tolerated by my company, which incidentally pays disability claims for our customers. I think I know what I'm talking about.

Andrea and two of her friends were anxiously waiting for my return from Indianapolis since they wanted to go bowling. First time in YEARS I've picked up my bowling ball. I did pathetic, but I did enjoy it. If I had more time, I would gladly join a league. Leagues are a lot of fun and you meet a lot of people, but they have gotten very expensive. (Like everything else!)

Have a wonderful Monday!
Hugs,
Cathy